80th Anniversary Timeline
FOUNDING
The Idaho School Boards Association is founded with the name Idaho State Trustees Association.
FIRST REGION MEETING
The Association holds their first meeting of region delegates, adopting a six-item mission that includes “to endeavor to give the youth of Idaho the best educational opportunities possible under any and all prevailing conditions,” and “that the association present a well [coordinated] educational program to the next state legislature.”
FIRST ANNUAL MEETING
The Association holds its first annual meeting, attended by roughly 200 people.
REGIONAL LEADERSHIP
The Association President is named vice president of the seven state National Council of State School Boards Associations.
INCREASED SCHOOL FUNDING
The Idaho State Legislature passes a minimum support program for schools and the highest ever level of funding for education in the state’s history with prompting from the Association, among others.
OUR FIRST WOMAN PRESIDENT
Alice Walker becomes the first woman president of the Association.
TRUSTEES AT THE STATEHOUSE
The Association holds what appears to be its first event drawing trustees to the Statehouse en masse in support of a legislative proposal—specifically, a funding proposal.
SALES TAX
The state begins funding education with a sales tax passed with the support of the Association and other education stakeholders.
A NEW NAME
The ISTA changes its name to the Idaho School Boards Association (ISBA). This was also the year the Executive Board decided to open a permanent office in Boise.
NATIONAL LEADERSHIP
ISBA President Dr. T.J. Comstock is elected president of the Pacific Regional School Boards Association. A year later, he would be elected to the Board of Directors of the National School Boards Association.
ISBA RESOLUTIONS
The membership considers a resolution to make the ISBA Business Session a non-smoking event. Unfortunately, ISBA records do not relate whether this resolution passed.
THE AUCTION
ISBA begins holding an auction at the Annual Convention. This event continues as a fundraiser for the ISBA Scholarship Trust.
POLICY SERVICES
ISBA begins offering the Policy Update Service, which continues to today in the form of quarterly recommended updates to boards’ policies and access to model policies on a range of topics.
ISBA & Moreton Insurance Plan
ISBA and Moreton & Company create an insurance plan that provides property and liability insurance to member school districts and charter schools. Since the program’s inception, ISBA members have received over $7.9 million in dividends.
WEBSITE
ISBA launches its first website.
Karen Echeverria Hired
ISBA Executive Director, Karen Echeverria was hired in 2007 and promoted to Executive Director the following year. She would continue to lead ISBA in that role until 2021.
Helping Schools Through Financial Emergency
Amid a statewide school budget crisis, Idaho School Boards Association, the Idaho Education Association, the Idaho Association of School Superintendents, the State Department of Education, and the State Board of Education negotiate the current process for school districts to declare a financial emergency.
Anderson, Julian & Hull
ISBA begins partnering with the law firm Anderson, Julian & Hull. They still assist with ISBA’s policy updates and provide the legal services to school boards included with ISBA membership.
Charter Membership and Board Development
ISBA became the first school boards association in the US to accept charter school boards as full members. This was also the year the state began providing funds to reimburse school boards for professional development by qualified trainers, allowing ISBA to expand its board training services.
Superintendent Search Service
ISBA begins offering the Superintendent Search Service. As of spring of 2022, the service has assisted in 58 candidate searches for superintendents.
ISBA Rebrands
ISBA rebrands to green and gold!
Full District Membership and New Downtown Office
ISBA begins a streak of representing every single school district in the state — a streak that lasts to the present. This is also the year ISBA moved to its new office closer to the heart of downtown and the Statehouse.
Charter School Policy Manual
ISBA authors a school policy manual specifically for Charter Schools.
Virtual Convention
In light of the global pandemic, ISBA hosts it’s first-ever all-virtual convention.
New Executive Director
Misty Swanson begins serving as ISBA’s new executive director.
New National Membership
ISBA becomes a founding member of the nationwide Consortium of State School Boards Associations along with 21 other state associations.